Otomys orestes, Thomas, 1900
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6887260 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6868612 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/1E30E275-34A8-FF19-E463-245C7FA98FBA |
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treatment provided by |
Carolina |
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scientific name |
Otomys orestes |
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393. View On
Afroalpine Vlei Rat
French: Otomys afroalpin / German: Mount-Kenya-Lamellenzahnratte / Spanish: Rata de laguna afroalpina
Taxonomy. Otomys irroratus orestes Thomas, 1900 View in CoL ,
Teleki Valley, 13,000 ft (= 3962 m), Mount Kenya, Kenya.
Otomys orestes previously was included in O. wrroratus or O. typus but later shown to be a distinct species. Monotypic. Distribution. Mt Kenya and Aberdare Range, C Kenya. Descriptive notes. Head-body 135-175 mm, tail 61-93 mm, ear 21-25 mm, hindfoot 25-30 mm. No specific data are available for body weight. The Afroalpine Vlei Rat is large and robust, with large blunt head, short tail, and shaggy fur. Fur is tawny brown above, with distinctive creamy buff post-auricular patches, and dark gray below. Tail is short (c.46% of head-body length). Upper and lower incisors each have single deep groove, and additional faint groove is present on lower incisors. M, has fourlaminae, and M” has seven or occasionally six laminae. View Figure
Habitat. Open heath and grassland habitats above the tree line at elevations of 2700— 4200 m.
Food and Feeding. No information.
Breeding. No information.
Activity patterns. The Afroalpine Vlei Rat is presumably diurnal or crepuscular.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. No information.
Status and Conservation. Not assessed on The [UCN Red Lust.
Bibliography. Carleton & Byrne (2006), Monadjem et al. (2015), Taylor et al. (2011).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.
